I have heard of this happening before to folks I know, however no one I personally hunt with has had this happen......until now.

My theroy is a barely hit, nervous system in shock, a quick recovery no real harm done.

My buddy made a 250-300 yard shot on a good buck, he aimed high. The buck fell immediatly, after a second jumped up and trotted off with his tail up waving. No blood, and no buck, 4 guys looking 2 days in an area that is not that thick.

Yall say what ?

What damage was done depends on where he was aiming. Was he aiming high at the neck or aiming high at the vitals. In the neck case he could have passed a bullet through the muscle under the spinal cord, but close enough to case a vibration shock that knocked the deer down. If he was aiming high at the vitals he could have passed above the lungs, through the ribcage but just under the spinal cord.

As for the no harm done, I don't think so. In both cases the deer has at least one extra hole to deal with and there is also the possibility of a lodged bullet somewhere. Searching for 2 days is certainly deemed as a best effort to locate the wounded animal so I am not slighting him at all. Hopefully the wounds will heal and he will be seen again.

Ive always thought the tail being up made me think the deer was not hurt too bad, tail tucked means he's going down.......
I told him we'll keep an eye on the game cameras and see if we see him showing up anywhere on the ranch. I hope he makes it.

Could have hit an antler and just knocked him silly for a minute.

he could get an infection and fever up, but deer are tough, i've killed deer than had deep scares from tines going into their hams and ribs.

i would say that he will probably make it, but there is always the chance of infection

I shot a buck up in northwest okla about 15 years ago. It was about a 250 yard shot and he dropped like a rock. I had been belly crawling into range and left quite a bit of stuff behing on the crawl. I stood up turned around and started picking up my things. After retrieving a few things I turned back to where the buck was laying and there he was standing up broadside looking at me. I still had my rifle in hand and shot a second time. This shot hit lungs and he went down about 50 yards from where I shot him. When I got to the deer I could see no evidence of him being hit by the first shot. It was definately strange.

had it happen 3 time in 16 yrs.. One with a gun and two with a bow... my son nailed this big buck.. # 100 yrds.. droped like a sack of bricks... we high fived and all that .. looked up and ????? ran up and found hair... NO blood.. looked for hours.. 1 drop of blood..
One last year.. doe at 20 yds.. hit her in the neck with a bow, she ran about 40 yards and then cam back to the feeder.. I thought it was i different doe so I sacared her away.. it was the doe I shot.. clean pass through.. no damage to her.
one was this year.. 40 yrd shot with a bow..based on video looks like it hit him a millimeter below the spine.. and hit the rib cage and stuck! dropped him , he spun around got up and ran.. 1 drop of blood.. arrow still in his back. lumenock shining bright...looked for 2 days.. 1 drop of blood and NO arrow. I pray he lived. but it happens and it is part of the game..

I also thought he coulda hit him in the hoof or near the hoof and knocked his feet out from under him.......I have know idea, I just know we dont have enough big bucks to "waste" one.......

OH MAN I WISH YOU HAD'NT ASKED....
IMO MOST PEOPLE HAVE NO BUSINESS SHOOTING OVER 200 YDS.

SURE THERE ARE SOME THAT CAN DO IT, BUT MOST NEVER PRACTICE AT ANY THING OVER 100 YDS, A FEW SHOOT 200 YDS. MOST ONLY SHOOT A COUPLE OF TIMES A YEAR AND SOME NEVER CHECK THEIR GUN BEFORE SEASON "IT WAS RIGHT ON LAST SEASON".

I'D SAY IT'S A WASTED DEER. PERSONALLY ANY TIME I SHOOT ONE THAT I KNOW I HIT BUT DON'T RECOVER, I CUT UP MY TAG.

I agree completely, but i can assure you he is not going to cut up his tag. I personally dont think he his the deer. Last year he made a 350yd shot with the same gun, the buck ran 20 yards and collapsed.

Had it happen to my son, first deer, finally found it. He was 12 I think, hit him with 270 at about 120 yards from a natural hide. Dropped like a stone. Watched a couple of minutes, nothing, not a tremor...as we were unloading and preparing to move, he got up and staggered around, drunk...

Told the boy to reload, got ready to shoot and he fell again. Watched about 10 min which seemed like 24 hours to the kid, then started walking. As we came out of a depression where we had lost sight of him, he was standing, saw us, and bolted... 4 hours of tracking that night and all the next day, never saw nothing. We had to leave, but a buddy found him the next day.

Since then we practice more and shoot better, and only take shots we are confident of, and nothing has run off since. Now when he shoots most of the time they die in their tracks.